Diplema on where to go to b-school (USC related)

[davidrng]

I am currently in the MSA program at San Francisco State University (a lower-tier school) and I am thinking of trying to transfer to USC's Macc program for next year. The thing is, I love the Bay Area and actually like the school and I am happy with the routine I have right now. Another thing that I like about SFSU's program is I have time to get involved in organizations like Beta Alpha Psi and run for officer positions, something I wouldn't have time to do in USC's intensive program.

However, getting into a Big 4 Accounting firm is one of my goals, and KPMG is the only Big 4 firm that recuits at my school (Deloitte and PwC also used to recruit here last year, but have recently slowed their efforts due to the economy in favor of schools like Cal and Stanford). I have been attending other non-school related job fairs to network with the accounting professionals from the Big 4, but the fact of the matter is it still seems that the chance of getting a Big 4 job offer while at USC will be a lot greater than it would be at SFSU.

I would really like to stay and work in San Francisco and to be honest would not be THAT disappointed if I did not get into USC, but the prestige and job placement potential of USC seems very hard to resist. Any thoughts or suggestions as to what I should do?

[RonPurewal]

I am currently in the MSA program at San Francisco State University (a lower-tier school) and I am thinking of trying to transfer to USC's Macc program for next year. The thing is, I love the Bay Area and actually like the school and I am happy with the routine I have right now. Another thing that I like about SFSU's program is I have time to get involved in organizations like Beta Alpha Psi and run for officer positions, something I wouldn't have time to do in USC's intensive program.

However, getting into a Big 4 Accounting firm is one of my goals, and KPMG is the only Big 4 firm that recuits at my school (Deloitte and PwC also used to recruit here last year, but have recently slowed their efforts due to the economy in favor of schools like Cal and Stanford). I have been attending other non-school related job fairs to network with the accounting professionals from the Big 4, but the fact of the matter is it still seems that the chance of getting a Big 4 job offer while at USC will be a lot greater than it would be at SFSU.

I would really like to stay and work in San Francisco and to be honest would not be THAT disappointed if I did not get into USC, but the prestige and job placement potential of USC seems very hard to resist. Any thoughts or suggestions as to what I should do?

well -- i think you've laid out both the 'pro' and the 'con' fairly comprehensively here, so ... it's your decision to make. at this point it's solely a function of your own priorities, and your own priorities are known only to you.

e.g., if your personality were like mine, then you really wouldn't care at all about "prestige", so your decision would be easy. if, on the other hand, you were one of those automaton-like people who care only about "prestige" and to whom the whole idea of personal fulfillment is alien, then your decision would also be easy.
on the other hand, in your case it sounds like the two are battling each other with approximately equal intensity, so ... you've got an interesting decision to make.

i guess here's the best way to think about it:
which decision would cause the least regret about NOT having chosen the other one?
that's an innovative new perspective, from which people sometimes don't bother to consider the issue. see if that helps to move you in one direction or the other.

[rui430]

hi,

just wanted so ask if you ended up deciding whether to transfer or not. i want to get my masters in accounting part-time while working at a big 4. what do you think of the sf state program? is it "pretty easy"? i'm just interested in getting my 150 credit hours.

thanks.